Alex spotted Ellie just as Marcus turned around. Having just violated his "lay low" protocol with the other boy, Alex decided to observe for a few moments before trying to talk to her. He wasn't sure that he could control himself around the aggravating Marcus.

Marcus grinned a toothy, salacious grin. "Hey babe, where's your pet chimney sweep?" he asked, standing to face her. "He's not gonna shank me for talking to you now, is he?" Chuckling at his own oh-so-witty comment, he put a hand on the small of Ellie's back and led her out into the mostly deserted hallway. Marcus looked around, then locked eyes with Ellie. He licked his teeth.

Alex saw the pair exit and felt that possessive pang again in his chest. He stayed in his seat for the moment, but couldn't keep his eyes off the doorway from which Marcus had led Ellie with a hand on her back. There was a faint ringing in his ears. His face was deathly white except for two bright red splotches on his cheeks. Brian noticed, followed Alex's gaze, and laughed a little.

"Yeah man, a lotta guys like her. Don't get your hopes up, she doesn't really date." He took a bite of his burger and chewed thoughtfully. "Dude you gotta chill out or you're gonna just fuck this whole thing up. You know that, right? Half the school knows you now as the Chimney Sweep Psycho."

Alex snapped out of his Ellie trance and scowled at the news. [i]Bollocks,[/i] he thought. Now no one would take him seriously. At least, not without a considerable amount of rep-repairing.

"You ever try ganja?" Brian asked with a knowing, crooked smirk. He stuffed the last of the burger in his mouth and stood up, shoving his phone in his pocket. "C'mon, man, we're gonna get your head right so you don't bring the whole Crew down in flames your first day." He led Alex across the cafeteria and out a side door, where they disappeared behind the school and crossed the street to a small wooded area to smoke a joint.

Meanwhile, Marcus stood with Ellie outside the cafeteria. "So... what's up?" he said expectantly, unsuccessfully suppressing his wolfish grin.